Director: Patty Jenkins
151 minutes (12) 2020
Warner Bros. 4K Ultra HD
Rating: 8/10
Review by Christopher Geary
This starts with the Amazonian version of a sports day decathlon, where the young Diana fails to get away with cheating by taking a short-cut during the horse-race. Little stunt-expert Lilly Aspell, from Wonder Woman (2017), is the fledgling princess, Connie Nielsen returns as Diana’s mother Queen Hippolyta, and Robin Wright again plays warrior Aunty Antiope. Certainly a worthwhile prologue, it reminds us of the uber-feminist culture on Themyscira (‘Paradise Island’), while foreshadowing the competitive honour, of ethical dilemmas with moral concerns, that drive this sequel’s main plot.
On patrol, in Washington D.C. super-heroine Diana Prince saves endangered citizens, and halts a robbery in a shopping centre. Back at museum work in the Smithsonian, she meets socially awkward Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), who finds a weird ‘Dreamstone’, but lets it fall into the wrong hands. Loudly ambitious con-man Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal of Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian) tricks his way into possession of the mysterious crystal, using its fairy-tale powers as rocket-fuel for his struggling business empire.
The intro for Diana’s invisible jet-plane (from the original comics), is handled with care so that its stealthy quality is not a super-tech solution to essential secrecy, and, when flying through a fourth of July fireworks display, the scene delivers a new reflection of Lois Lane’s dreamy flying at night, seen in Superman The Movie (1978). ‘Invisibility’ is something that antagonistic Barbara already has, as noted in her first scenes, so this uncanny development also mirrors an oddly thematic exchange in their eventual transference of super-powers.
A chase on an open road in the Egyptian desert, suddenly dramatises how much Diana is losing her strength, while delivering a stunning showcase of stunts and special effects, as Wonder Woman tackles a military convoy. Fighting armed men in the White House, turns into a duel between the weakening Wonder Woman, and Barbara, who is now becoming a version of comic-book villainess Cheetah. Although Chris Pine’s role as Steve Trevor was sadly annoying in the previous movie, here his rather clingy character manages to play a worthy hero and later he’s a suitable inspiration for Diana to learn how to fly alone (no plane needed), with all the attainment of new poetic grace that her solo-flight implies.
Wonder Woman in her golden Amazonian armour, versus a vengeful Cheetah in were-cat form, makes the climactic battle spectacular as beauty against beastly. However, for the final confrontation, Wonder Woman wins by accepting her loss. She beats a now deranged Max Lord (his name evidently a cipher for maximum ‘lording it’ over humanity), by embracing a passion for truth, not fighting against a madman's voracious hunger for greatness.
Heaven knows why the hell this sequel got such low ratings after its cinema release. Just a thoughtless backlash against movie-distribution problems caused by the pandemic? It’s a compelling drama of wish-fulfilment, where incautious requests soon prompt doomsday situations. Quasi-satirical villainy turns from a comedy of corruption and chaos to frame a magical mystery of how to put an unrestrained genie back into a bottle. Talking to people is clearly the only form of persuasion that actually works.
Gal Gadot is marvellous as Diana Prince, struggling to find and establish her place in this world where she doesn’t really belong. Of course, she’s magical instead of being a macho figure like Superman. She fights only to save her friend Barbara. In the end, she doesn’t even fight to save the world. Wonder Woman is honestly pro-democracy, and she simply urges everyone to make the right choice for themselves. Facing human extinction across the planet, “renounce your wish if you want to save this world” is her plea to be the best we can, no matter what we might desire.
Like all of the best superhero movies, WW84 has its fair share of inventive action scenes and so Diana’s glowing lasso catches a bullet in mid-air, she latches onto a handy rocket-launch, and then a lightning bolt, to swing through the sky. Max Lord is more like a spoof of Gordon Gekko (from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street), than a Latino variation of Lex Luthor. Pascal was in under-rated TV movie Wonder Woman (2011), playing the police detective. Lynda Carter (from Wonder Woman on TV, 1975-9), enjoys a cameo as legendary Amazon warrior Asteria.
Extras on the bonus Blu-ray disc -
- The Making Of Wonder Woman 1984: Expanding The Wonder
- Gal & Kristen: Friends Forever
- Small But Mighty
- Scene Study: The Open Road
- Scene Study: The Mall
- Gal & Krissy Having Fun
- Meet the Amazons
- Black Gold Infomercial
- Gag Reel
- Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix
